German Railways Submits First Quarter Report on S3 Sanitation Program to Transport Minister
German Railways (Deutsche Bahn) has presented its first-quarter report on the S3 sanitation program to Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schieder. The 50-page document, reported on by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, reveals that the company’s economic situation has improved slightly in the first quarter, with the sanitation program progressing “better than planned.” However, the report also highlights various risks that could threaten the company’s annual targets in multiple areas, prompting the introduction of “countermeasures” in the fields of economy, infrastructure and operations.
The DB Infrago infrastructure subsidiary, focused on serving the public good, has performed poorly, with profits far below expectations due to a high need for compensation and a slower-than-expected sale of properties. Despite exceeding planned volume of work, the subsidiary’s infrastructure projects have not yielded the expected benefits for the rail operation, with over 5,800 “lost units” of delay per day, significantly above the target of 5,200.
This infrastructure-related delay also affects punctuality, with the goal of achieving 75 to 80 percent punctuality in long-distance rail services by 2027 and at least 66 to 71 percent by 2025. In the first quarter, punctuality reached only 66.3 percent, dropping to 61.9 percent in April. DB Regio and DB Cargo also fell short of their punctuality targets for 2025. The report states that achieving the desired punctuality levels in the second quarter will remain a significant challenge.